


The Blood Royal

by ArgentWyvern



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 08:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15725418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentWyvern/pseuds/ArgentWyvern
Summary: Ever since Prince Luke could remember, his life was a straightforward path to follow as heir to the Kingdom of Misthallery. But after an ominous dream that foretold disaster; he would soon join his mentor, Sir Layton, under the guise of a traveling knight and his squire. They blend in amongst the common folk as they try to find a way to stop the destruction that threatens the Kingdom and all of its inhabitants.





	The Blood Royal

The crowds cheered when they saw the newly-crowned King Clark III step out unto the balcony, along with the rest of the royal family. He wore a fine vermillion cape, and weighing down on his brow was a glittering crown of pearls and sapphires, that made his sea-blue eyes stand out. Next to him, was his young wife, Queen Brenda. She wore a velvet gown with a simple silver circlet. In her arms, wrapped in vivid blue swaddling clothes, was Prince Lucas Aiden. That baby would grow up to prefer to be called Luke.

Luke himself couldn’t recall that day. He couldn’t even remember anything at all about his grandfather, King Everett IX. But he had been told about his father’s coronation so many times, he felt he knew every detail. Not to mention, that day would hold deep repercussions on his young life. For that was the day that his father passed onto him the ceremonial title reserved for an heir apparent of the ancient Triton dynasty: the Blood Royal. 

Nobody really knew when or why the title first began to be used. The earliest historical record came from a weathered stone that claimed that a King Ambrose named his first-born, princess Alodia, the Blood Royal. His argument was that the ancient title should always pass unto the eldest child of the monarch. Apparently, this was a controversial decision at the time, as some claimed that King Ambrose’s eldest son, Prince Martin, should have been given the title. Apparently, King Ambrose had won over in the end, since the kingdom now passed to the eldest child of the reigning monarch, and then to their younger siblings, before going to consider the eldest aunt or uncle.

Some scholars speculated that the reason behind the title came after some sort of war of succession, and naming a clear heir would prevent the strife of war. Others claimed that the title came from the time of the first Triton king. A figure that, according to the legends, descended from the sky to bring peace by reconciling all living creatures. The legends claimed that the first king’s reign lasted for a thousand years, before returning to the skies and letting his eldest child rule in his stead. By naming the heir a Blood Royal, it was a clear sign that the Tritons were descended from this celestial king. The legends also claimed, that Old King now would watch over his descendants for half a year up in the skies, as a constellation. 

Regardless of the reason, ever since Luke could remember, the title was like a third and fourth name that he never used. He only ever heard the title whenever he attended court, which wasn’t very often as he was still a child and had many lessons to attend to. And even when he was done with his lessons, he preferred to play with his sisters anyway.

Much like the crowning of his father, Luke couldn’t remember a time before the twins. It must have been boring, though. Elodie liked to spend most of her days by the mews, talking to all the birds there. However, if she wasn’t loitering there, she was usually seen with her faithful pet hawk Vivi close nearby. Vivi liked hunting for small, fluffy critters and then bringing them back to Elodie, much to the dismay of Alexis, who kept generation after generation of pet rabbits. Alexis would usually spend her days sitting in the gardens and petting her rabbits. All of which were named after vegetables. There were Turnip, Garlic, Fennel, and Leek; to name a few. Talking to Alexis’s pet rabbits always made Luke very hungry. However, they were so calm and sweet, petting them always helped cheer him up.

Most of Luke’s time was dedicated to his education. Arithmetic, law, peasant customs, economy… He did fine, though sometimes the subjects were a little boring. The lessons he enjoyed the most, were those that he had with a knight that had grown up close to the current King: Sir Hershel Theodore Layton. He taught him history and sword fighting, as well as the path of true chivalry and knighthood. Sir Layton was a man that was slow to anger and quick of wit. 

Life was a predictable, and Luke didn’t mind that at all. What he couldn’t predict, however, was that his life would soon change dramatically. It all started on the night of his tenth birthday. 

The day had been like almost any other birthday he had had. The castle cook had prepared freshly baked bread, as well as a hearty soup that would warm even the coldest of nights. There were also several pies stuffed with hare, eggs, lemon juice, cinnamon, almonds, chestnuts and nutmeg that were oddly sweet and yet elaborate. However, the main dish of the night was a roast swan, stuffed with ground nuts and fragrant spices. It was quite delicious, but it was so spicy that Luke had to drink several cups of apple cider to wash away the heat. And of course, at the end of the feast, everybody gathered in the hall had honey cake, Luke’s favorite dessert. After such a day of constant merrymaking, Luke had easily fallen asleep.

_He saw three constellations: the Old King, the Blue Rider, and the Night Flame. The names were burned into his mind as he saw them, twinkling in the sky. Then, he saw a large lake where these three constellations were reflected on. A small person was standing by it, holding some sort of red item in their hands. Twelve notes filled the air. The surface of the lake was disturbed, and emerging from it— an inky black shadow that swallowed all the stars above, leaving the world in darkness._

He had woken up covered in sweat. It was dark inside the heavy canopy that surrounded his bed. Anxious, Luke pulled the canopy just enough to get a glimpse of what was going on outside his bed. The embers of the fireplace were still dying out, keeping the room warm. A few rays of moonlight poking through the curtains filled his chambers with a pale light. But everything was still. There was no lake, no music, no monster. Exhaustion came upon him again, and he closed back up the canopy to return to the warmth of his bed. The next time he’d wake up, it’d be by his attendants that would help him wash his face with warm water. He had considered talking to them about the dream he had had. But decided against it. He still wasn’t sure what to make of it. Did it mean something? Or was it just a nightmare he had gotten from eating too much honey cake?

He had remained quiet during breakfast, though the twins were quite lively. They had spent most of the breakfast trying to convince their parents that since they were two their next birthday celebration had to have two cakes and not just one. And also, they couldn’t agree which cake they should have. Luke only half-heard them, his mind still running from the dream he had just had. He had to do something about his dream. The prince finished his scrambled eggs with nutmeg, chestnuts, and cinnamon and then promptly excused himself from the table, claiming that he needed to read up on something to prepare for his morning lessons. Though the king and the queen were confused by his hastiness, they allowed him to run along.

Luke went straight to the castle library. Somewhere amongst all of these tomes, there had to be some sort of explanation for his dream, right? His first instinct was to look at astronomical charts. Luke knew that the Old King marked the beginning of spring and lasted until autumn. As such, it usually appeared on the sky in less than a week after his birthday. However, he didn’t know about the Blue Rider or the Night Flame until he saw them in his dream and the names were burned in his mind. Were they even real constellations?

“My boy, are you looking for something?” A kind voice asked from above. Sure enough, towering over him was Sir Layton, dressed in a red gambeson, looking at the papers that were laid out on the table.

“S-sir!” Luke gasped, and he tried to cover with his small body the charts he had been perusing. It didn’t work. “I-I was just—!”

“Your sisters were asking for you, Luke. They hadn’t seen you all day since breakfast,” the chastisement in his mentor’s voice stung more than a smack with a wooden sword. “A true knight doesn’t make his family worry.”

“I’m sorry…” He had lost track of time. And since Layton was here, dressed up for battle, Luke knew that he was late for their usual training sessions. “I was just looking into something quite puzzling…”

“A conundrum?” The knight smiled. “Would you like my help?”

“Actually— I do, yes. See, last night I had a dream and… and I saw three constellations. I recognized the Old King, but I didn’t know about the other two.”Luke observed his mentor cup his chin as he processed the information. Apart from history and knighthood, Sir Layton also was an avid scholar and a true puzzle fiend. He would surely be able to offer some insight on his odd dream. “Do you know about the Blue Rider and the Night Flame?”

“The Night Flame is a star cluster that appears in the sky during autumn and winter. There’s a week or so of overlap between the Night Flame and the Old King in the sky before the other leaves the heavens.”

“Really?” Luke tried to remember if he had ever seen something like that in the sky. He had only really been able to find the Old King, mostly because of how soon it appeared in the sky after his birthday.

“In fact, there’s an old saying about the Night Flame and the Old King: ‘When the king turns off the flame, it is time to plow. When he turns it back on, it’s time to sow.’ As for the Blue Rider, I’m sure you’ve seen it before, my boy. It’s the blue star that you can see move east to west across the heavens. ”

“Oh! I think I know which it is! It’s the one that always passes by the North Star on the last days of summer, right?”

“Precisely, my boy! Now, did you say that you saw these constellations in a dream?”

“Oh…” Luke’s enthusiasm was dampened. He had been excited to learn about the night sky! But, he wasn’t so happy to remember the rest of the dream. Regardless, the boy told him what he could remember. He even whistled the tune he heard in the dream.

“Sir,” the prince asked, “do you think this means…?”

“Means something? I can’t really say right now. Sometimes dreams are just that, my boy. Dreams.”

“But this dream, it was so real!” Luke insisted. “I know that it means something, and it’s something bad…!”

“My boy…” Sir Layton gave him a pat on the shoulder. “You should—”

He stopped mid-sentence, looking at the door where a palace guard stumbled in.

“S-sir Layton! The king requests your presence in the council room immediately!” The guard’s eyes landed on Luke. “I’ll escort the prince to the Northern Tower, but please, hurry!”

“But we were—” Luke was yanked by the arm before he could protest any further. He had never seen the guards so angsty before. Anxiety began to bubble inside him when he saw Sir Layton rush towards the council room. He tried asking the guard what was going on, but he didn’t reply, instead focused on his single-minded task of taking him to the Northern Tower. 

Luke saw two guards standing outside, clearly keeping watch. He hadn’t seen something like that before. Were they under attack? The Northern Tower was the strongest and tallest tower of the castle. He looked around, but couldn’t see much apart from guards coming and going, clearly looking for something. Or someone. 

When he was unceremoniously dumped inside the tower, he was almost immediately tackled by his two sisters.

“Luke! You’re here!” Elodie sniffed. “What’s going on? Mum told us to stay here and she hasn’t come back since!”

“I tried sending out Carrot and Garlic to look for her, but they said they were too scared to go outside with all the people running around!” Alexis said, hugging his legs tightly. “And Vivi flew away! We don’t know what’s happening!”

Luke hugged back his sisters and tried to reassure them. “She’s probably in the council room with dad. Sir Layton was just summoned there.”

“The council room?” the twins asked in unison and looked up to him as if expecting him to elaborate further on the matter. 

But Luke couldn’t really elaborate on what he didn’t know. He shook his head, and only hugged his sisters. “It’ll be fine! Sir Layton is the smartest knight in all the kingdom! If anybody can help, it’s him!”

“Do you think this has to do with the minstrel?” Alexis asked, wiping her nose against her sleeve.

“The minstrel…?” Luke couldn’t recall any music being played during breakfast. Simon, the castle bard, usually rested up the day after a long feast.

“No, no, Allie! Luke left after breakfast, remember?” Elodie was quick to point out. “He didn’t hear what this new minstrel had to say.”

“What did he say?” Luke asked, making a mental note to apologize for leaving so quickly and without warning. Sir Layton did say, that a true knight doesn’t make his family worry. He hadn’t thought just how much his sisters would be confused for him to leave so quickly after finishing his breakfast.

“The minstrel sang a song about love!” Alexis’s blue eyes twinkled with excitement, and Luke was quite grateful that she wasn’t panicking anymore. “It was the story of a lady that saved her town with magic! Or— by music? She got a magical flute from a lover, and with it summoned the spirits of nature to save the town from invasion!”

“A magical flute…” Luke furrowed his eyebrows. Why did this story ring so true? “What was the minstrel’s name? Where did he come from?”

“He didn’t say.” Elodie cupped her chin. “He wore a very funny mask, though! It only covered half his face, so it wasn’t a very good mask. I could tell that he had a huge nose!”

“That’s very weird.” Luke frowned. “But if everybody is in an uproar after this mysterious minstrel came, then it’s possible that he’s the reason behind the—”

The doors opened. Luke perked up.

“Sir Layton—?” he asked, only able to see the vague silhouette against the sunlight outside the tower. He blinked, and his eyes soon saw a kind old man dressed in deep burgundy clothes.

“Magister Doland!” Elodie cried out and ran over to him. It was only natural. Doland had served the king before Clark and was a trusted old family friend. “Have you seen Mum? Or Dad?”

“Mum told us to stay here, but she hasn’t come back in a while!” Alexis elaborated further, ungluing herself from Luke to join her twin at the newcomer’s side. Luke, on the other hand, was too winded to walk over to Magister Doland.

“Did the urgent meeting end?” Luke asked, rubbing his eyes. “Where is Sir Layton?”

“The meeting did end, the Queen has gone into confinement.” The man smiled. “That means, sweet children, that she is expecting. You might soon have a little brother or sister! The Queen has retired from court to stay at a secluded location with a few of her retainers to prepare to give birth.”

“So I won’t be the youngest one anymore?” Alexis jumped up and down. “Oh! If we have a brother we should name him Apple! I love Apples!”

“Allie,” Elodie asked “if we have a sister, what would you call her? I like… Aurora!”

“Aurora? It’s nice, but I prefer Cherry!”

As his sisters talked about possible baby names,Luke stayed put and thought. He couldn’t really remember life before the twins. But, did his mum really leave the court when she was expecting? He’d remember that, right? And anyway, if their mother left the court and the castle, then wouldn’t she have told his sisters that instead of putting them inside a tower and telling them to stay put? Why would the castle be in an uproar? Another royal child was always good news, right? So what was this feeling…?

“When are we seeing mum again?” Elodie asked, breaking Luke from his thoughts.

“She actually requested me to bring you to her!” the magister’s smile was as warm as ever. “She wants to spend her confinement with her darling children! Now, the carriage awaits. Let’s go.”

“Oh! We’ll finally learn where babies come from!” Alexis said, following the magister’s directions without much thought. Though, she did take the time to turn around and shout at her rabbits: “Come with me, Carrot! Garlic, you go gather everybody and get them in the carriage! I’m not leaving until you’re all there, ok?”

Alexis didn’t notice it because she was distracted, but Carrot and Garlic kept their distance. In fact, they were afraid.

“What—?” Luke turned from the terrified rabbits towards the magister and his sisters. Luke saw the faintest distortion in the air surrounding Doland and flash of white. In that instant, his stomach knotted up. “Elodie! Alexis! Get away—!”

The moment he had called it out, the stranger removed whatever that was making him look just like the trusted advisor. In his stead, was a tall figure with an odd white mask. He smirked.

“Good! So you too could see past my illusion! But it matters not.” Soon, several masked figures dressed in black robes with a garish golden trim blocked the exit. They immediately grabbed the princesses, despite their best efforts to struggle free. Alexis tried to scream for help, and Elodie tried biting her attacker. Luke, however, couldn’t help as three of the masked perpetrators immediately lunged for him. In a blind panic, the boy ran up the stairs of the tower, trying to get away from the would-be kidnappers.

He had run as hard as he could up the stairs and soon found himself on the topmost floor. But, even if he had been quick, there was no way the kidnappers would just let him go after all that. His heart beat against his ears. He had to find a hiding spot, and quickly—

“Luke!” a small voice squeaked. “Hide on the roof!”

“The roof?” Luke asked turning around to find the source of the voice. A minuscule gerbil by the name of Toppy. 

“Yes!” Toppy squeaked again. “Climb out the window!”

Luke didn’t question it. He immediately opened the window and looked out the side of the tower. There were some vines growing there, though they were covered in a faint sheen of ice. He grabbed onto them and felt his stomach lunge when he felt the icy late-winter wind howling at him in all directions. But he couldn’t just give up! He just looked up and tried to grab the next vine…

He was completely out of the topmost floor when he heard the window shut. Luke held on tight to the vines, looking at the window. Toppy squeaked at him. He had just closed the window. Oh… right! If the ruffians saw the window open, they’d know he had climbed outside! What a brilliant distraction! But it also meant that he had to commit to climbing to the roof. Luke looked up and grabbed onto the next vine. And the next one. He had to keep his head clear, and his thoughts collected. That’s the way a true knight works. At least, that’s what Sir Layton taught him.

He reached the top of the tower— as much of the top as he could reach. The roof was sloped, and he couldn’t go any higher than the battlements if he didn’t want to have to hold on to the top of the roof. For how, he took deep breaths and tried to asses the situation he was in, the way Sir Layton had taught him. 

Yesterday had been his birthday. And that night, he had an odd dream. He saw three constellations, two of which most likely indicated to him a time that would be in less than a week from now. The third one, most likely, indicated to him a location. There was a small figure, and a red item that made a clear melody, before a large shadow consumed the world. After breakfast, he had retired immediately to go to the castle library. But, according to Elodie and Alexis, a traveling minstrel came and sang a song about a woman using a flute to summon the spirits of nature—

“A flute?” The boy’s eyes grew wide open. “The sound…”

The sound he had heard in his dream…! It was a flute!

A figure slumped into the battlements from behind him. Luke spun around, preparing himself to run away once more—

“Sir Layton!”

“Luke! Thank goodness.” Sir Layton dusted himself off. “I tried to come as soon as I could. Where are your sisters?”

“They were taken by the men in masks! The traveling minstrel that sang after breakfast did something to make himself look like Doland, and tricked them! He had accomplices, too! I could only escape because Toppy closed the window behind me to make it look as if I hadn’t climbed out of the window!

“Indeed. Toppy was the one that pointed me in the right direction after I fought the invaders.” Sir Layton turned his head towards the edge of the tower. He had climbed up, using the removable ladders that were supposedly were used in sieges to reach the barracks. Luke had never seen them actually being used.

“Sir, what do we do?!” Luke asked, wiping the tears that were filling up his eyes. “Mum had put my sisters in the tower, but—”

“That was what the meeting was about.” Sir Layton said, giving the boy a hug. “The Queen— Brenda had told Clark that something was odd about Magister Doland and that she feared for the children. Shortly after that, she vanished. The last people to see her were the guards that had been given the order to not let anybody in the Tower unless they had proven they were who they said they were.”

The prince could feel Layton’s hug grow stiff, before breaking the hug. 

“Luke, I believe your mother and your sisters were kidnapped by this traveling minstrel. He called himself Jean Descole in the visitor’s records. For now, he seems willing to negotiate with the king. But since he now has two royal hostages and the Queen, I fear that Clark’s hands might be completely tied.”

“S-so mum isn’t expecting and she didn’t willingly go into confinement—” Luke said, looking up at his mentor.

“Did Descole say that?” Layton’s lips drew to a thin line. “In older times, queens went into confinement as soon as they knew that they were expecting. But that is an old practice, and your mother never did like the idea. She only retired from the court when she was almost ready to give birth.”

“I didn’t know that!” Luke protested, feeling as if Layton was blaming him for not being able to tell that Doland was being impersonated. “My sisters didn’t know that! I only knew that something was off because Alexis’s rabbits were afraid of him, and because I saw his form change for a moment—!”

“You saw his form change—?”

“In fact!” Luke took a step back. “How can I know I can trust you?! Are you really Sir Layton?”

“Luke, my boy, calm down.” Sir Layton said, giving a small sigh. “If I can tell you something only I can know, will you trust me?”

“…Alright. Then tell me something only Sir Layton knows!”

“Last night, you had a dream. And in that dream, you heard a song. It went like this.” Sir Layton whistled the tune. Luke felt instantly relieved.

“S-sir Layton! I’m sorry to have doubted you.”

“That’s quite alright, my boy. It’s not surprising considering the circumstances.” A smile came to the knight. “And had you insisted, I might’ve told you about the time you had told Alexis’s rabbits to surprise her and Elodie on their birthday and then—”

“Sir!” Luke felt his cheeks glow red hot. “You promised you wouldn’t tell anybody about that!”

“And I have not, my boy! That is why it’d be the excellent personal anecdote to prove my identity,” Sir Layton’s smile then fell. “Luke. Earlier today, you asked me if I thought that your dream might mean something. With all that has been happening around the castle, I now have reason to believe that it does.”

“So the large shadow coming from the lake…! Will it cover the world in darkness?!”

“I’m not sure, my boy. But there is a time when the Old King, the Night Flame and the Blue Rider coincide in the sky. And I have a very reasonable guess as to where your dream took place. Have you ever heard of the Highyard Lake?”

“The Highyard Lake!” Luke exclaimed. “That’s the largest source of water and freshwater fish in the kingdom!”

“Yes. Just next to Highyard Lake is a sanctuary. I believe that we must head there right now and see for ourselves what is going on there.”

“But…” Luke crossed his arms, growing all-too-aware of the wind that was nipping at his ears. “It’s still winter! It’ll be freezing!”

“My boy, I believe we have no choice,” the knight knelt down next to him and held onto his shoulders. His small, dark eyes looked right into his. “I have no doubt in my heart that Descole is right now trying to find you to have absolute leverage over Clark. You are his direct heir. If he finds you, it’s all over. I was entrusted by your father to find you and your sisters and leave as soon as possible. I was far too late for Elodie and Alexis, but I will never allow anything happening to you. We must leave now.”

“I-I see…” Luke shivered. The boy told himself that it was the cold. But the truth was that he also felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. He had never left the castle before. Everybody simply came to the castle whenever they wanted to talk to his father. Yes, there had been plans to make him take a tour of the kingdom— when he’d turn sixteen. He had only turned ten. He was far too young to venture outside!

With numb hands, Luke climbed down the ladder Sir Layton had set up. His head was spinning, and it was something of a miracle that he hadn’t slipped and fell. The knight led him through the cramped backrooms of the servants’ quarters, before leading him to the kitchen. Immediately, Luke could smell that there were already roasting some meat for supper in the spit. Larry, the turnspit dog, ignored them as they entered. He was always quite the shy fellow and seldom talked when he was on the job. Luke picked out the empty bowl of water from within the mechanism the dog was walking on. Then, he poured some more water for him. Larry lapped it up gladly. It wasn’t too hot where Larry was walking, but walking for an hour could really exhaust any dog.

But really, this slow-turning of meat over the charcoal made it taste much better. Luke’s mouth was watering ever since they got in the kitchens. If only he could stay long enough for supper… Sir Layton walked over to the table and slipped out of his bright red gambeson, and instead put on a much more muted brown one that he had picked from the table. 

“Put on these.” Sir Layton then handed him a bundle of clothes. It was a woolen set of clothes, though these were pale gray-blue. And they came with a thick gray hooded cape and his leather riding boots. Luke noted, with a heavy heart, that next to the table where Layton had picked their change of clothes were two small gray dresses and two rudimentary rag dolls. “If we’re going to escape, then we must don disguises.”

Luke liked his usual clothes. They weren’t scratchy and the intense blue really helped bring out his eyes, according to his mother at least. These clothes, however… itched him a little. Putting them on right on his skin would surely drive him mad! He decided to leave on his soft linen stockings and undertunic. It’s not like you could see them when he put on the disguise and the cape, anyway. As he changed clothes, Sir Layton gathered foodstuffs and packed them up.

They didn’t have time to say goodbye. They could only gather as many supplies as possible, and leave on a plowing horse and a small mule from the stables. The horse was an old fellow that called himself Roland and the mule was a younger fellow that wanted to be called ‘Mule’. Their exit from the city was quiet, as they kept to small streets where no merchants were peddling their wares. After snaking through the city streets, they soon found themselves exiting through one of the gates with only the smallest nod from the guards stationed there. It seemed that the commotion inside the castle hadn’t spread out yet. Luke glanced back at the castle and saw it grow smaller and smaller still in the horizon.

Nerves got the better of him. He had to take his mind off the fact that he was now so far away from home. He looked at the mule he was riding, and decided to strike up a conversation with it.

“Mule,” Luke asked. “Am I too heavy for you?”

Mule made an odd noise before saying: “No. You are a small human child.”

“I guess I am! But I’ll have you know, I just turned ten years old! Mum said that I’m not that small anymore—”

“Luke, my boy. I believe I should tell you,” Sir Layton turned to look at him. “What we can or can’t do when traveling in disguise. Just keep in mind, that we’re pretending to not be a royal knight and a prince. I am a simple wandering swordsman and you, are my squire. We are both commoners. And we hail from South Ely. We are going to the Highyard Lake sanctuary to ask for blessings. If anybody asks you, then you must always answer that, alright?”

“Yes, sir!” Luke sat up a little more straight on Mule’s back.

“And…” Sir Layton turned to look ahead of him. “I know this might be hard to accept, but you can’t let anybody know that you can talk to animals.”

“What?” Luke must’ve misheard. Why would he hide something so natural? “Why not?”

“My boy… most people can’t talk to animals.”

“What! That can’t be true!” Luke protested. His father could talk to animals. His sisters could talk to animals! Couldn’t everybody just… talk to animals?

“It is, small human.” Mule neighed. “Nobody reacts when I talk to them.”

“Oh…” Luke’s spirits dampened. This journey was getting sadder the longer he was in it. But it’s not like he could turn back now! He had to see this through! It’s not like… he had any choice in this matter, did he? If he didn’t stop whatever monster was going to cover the world in inky blackness, then who will? He had to have had that dream for a reason…

“I am sorry, my boy.” Sir Layton’s voice made it apparent that he wasn’t exactly happy with the decision either “But it’s for your safety.”

“That’s alright, sir Layton.” Luke sighed. “We can’t let Descole find us, and all that…”

A heavy silence fell. They didn’t talk until midday when they stopped their riding to rest up and eat something. Bread and cheese. It was good. Not as good as roasted meat on a spit. Or as fragrant as the castle garden’s apples. But the bread was soft and the cheese was hearty.

“Do you want some more cheese?” Layton offered, cutting another slice of it.

“Yes please!” Luke said, holding up his piece of bread. “Do we have butter?”

“I’m sorry. We don’t.”

Luke did his best to conceal his disappointment. Bread with cheese always tasted better when it was spread with some butter and salt. He had bread, but he didn’t really have much else besides cheese. They also had water, which couldn’t help with the blandness of the meal. Nonetheless, Luke ate his lunch and tried to keep his spirits up. 

“Are we far from Highyard Lake, sir?”

“We are about a half way from arriving. But I think Roland is getting tired. We should rest for a bit and then get there tomorrow. The three constellations shouldn’t appear in the sky until a few days from now. So we can go slowly.”

“Unless Descole is behind us!”

“I doubt that, my boy. Descole has no reason to be looking for us like this. We haven’t left any clue behind.”

Luke chewed his lip. His mind wandered back to the twins, and his mother. Where was Descole keeping them? Was he going to keep Elodie and Alexis away from their pets? They always got restless when they didn’t have their animals close to comfort them. And they were still very young. But if they were being kept in the same place as their mother, then maybe they could remain calm…

“Sir?” The boy asked. “Why do you think Descole has come? Who is he? Why would he try to do something like this?”

“…” Sir Layton bowed his head, clearly deep in thought. “I… can’t say. I couldn’t help but feel that there was something familiar about him. But…”

“Do you think he’ll harm mum? And my sisters?”

“Luke,” Sir Layton looked up at him. “I swear, on my honor as a knight, that no harm shall befall any of them. Not to mention, if Descole is cunning enough to trick most of the people in the castle, then he would be cunning enough to not bring harm to his hostages.”

“I… I suppose you’re right!” Luke smiled, feeling a little better. “…Will we be spending the night out here?”

“Goodness, no. There is a small town just ahead. We’ll stay there and lodge. Nighttime is too dangerous to be out in the open, it can get terribly cold without a proper shelter.”

“A small town? What is it called?” Luke tried to remember the maps he had learned in his classes. He knew the general important locations of the kingdom. But, alas, his knowledge of towns was… lacking.

“It’s Windytown. It receives many people on the way to the Lake. But apart from that, it’s quite small. We should arrive there before sunset.” Sir Layton said, standing up. “Let’s go, my boy.”

Luke got back on Mule’s back and chatted with him now and then. Mule, out of respect or boredom, humored him. He did his best to keep his voice down, lest anybody listen to them.

“Mule, do you have any siblings?”

“I have a horse-sister and a donkey-brother.”

“Really! I also have two siblings! But they’re both sisters. They’re very sweet. Have you heard of them? Elodie has Vivi, the hawk. And Alexis has a lot of rabbits! Like Garlic and Carrot— they were with us when Descole’s men attacked us!”

“I have seen rabbits try to bury their way into the stables. They frighten most of us.”

“Really? I didn’t know rabbits could be scary…”

“You’d be scared too if the floor beneath you shifted.”

“Can you feel rabbits burrowing?”

“Sometimes if they’re closer to the surface.” Mule explained. “Those rabbits are very bad at burying deep. They’re spoilt little pets.”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“I like Vivi.” Mule changed the subject. “I’ve seen her catch some of the mice that try to hide in the hay.”

“Yes… I like Vivi too.” Luke sighed. Vivi had flown away with all of the commotion. Perhaps she had been able to get away?

“Luke, we’re almost at the town.” Sir Layton warned. “Remember, low profile.”

“Yes, sir!” Luke said, before turning back to Mule. “I’m sorry Mule, I won’t be able to talk to you anymore while we’re in the town.”

“Then so long, small human.” Mule said and remained silent for the rest of their trip.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first part of my Summer 2018 Layton Big Bang entry! The original first entry consisted of chapters one and two combined, but considering how big the first chapter was and how large the second chapter was looing, I decided to split up the chapters to a much more digestible length.  
> The prompt was: "The Tritons are a royal family that rules over Misthallery. Luke, the young prince, dons a disguise and leaves the castle for the first time with Layton, a distinguished knight, to learn more about the monster who’s destroying their kingdom."  
> As you can imagine, this prompt really inspired me! This is not the end, but I honestly couldn't finish writing the entire prompt at once, so fret not. The conclusion should appear soon!  
> I'd like to thank @lavenderskiesanddaisychains on Tumblr for being my assigned artist for this prompt and @Laytonbigbang on Tumblr for organizing this event!


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